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Old
Computers Causing Environmental Crisis in India |
Posted:
02.26.07
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Electronic waste -- discarded computers, televisions and cell
phones -- is flooding developing countries like India, exposing
people and the environment to toxic materials.
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With high literacy rates, and English language and computer
skills, the economy in India is booming with the help of computers.
People there do a variety of jobs that affect many areas of American
life, including answering phones for U.S. businesses, tutoring
students and transcribing medical records or television programs.
 But
these jobs need lots of computers -- even defective computers
that can be recycled and refurbished. And this has made India
a dumping ground for mountains of toxic electronic or e-waste.
More than 150,000 tons of electronic waste is produced there
each year, according to Toxics Link, an Indian environmental organization.
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Recycling
dangers |
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The raw materials in a computer -- gold, copper coils, aluminum
and other metals -- are worth money. But to get these components
out of the computers, the motherboards are literally cooked, releasing
arsenic, mercury, lead and other toxins.
 These
metals harm the body, especially brain development.
According to Dr. Thuppil Venkatesh, a professor of biochemistry
and biochemistry at St. John's Medical Center in Bangalore, India,
53 percent of children under 12 in India's cities are lead-poisoned.
That means they have permanent brain damage that claims up to
20 percent of their I.Q.
But with a high demand for computers and people willing to do
the painstaking work to recycle them for low pay, the industry
is growing despite the dangers.
Experts say that up to 5 million people work in this trade, often
with little or no protections.
"The recycling is highly dangerous in India, with all the
operation and the procedure is still very primitive. And they
are recycling with their bare hand; they have no protection at
all," Ramapati Kumar of Greenpeace India, told the NewsHour.
And although lawmakers in the country are aware of these problems,
they are hesitant to create rules that could eliminate jobs for
some of the poorest people in the world.
"In this country, environment is an important issue, but
it's not a priority. So livelihood becomes a priority. And basically,
you know, takes a lead on all of our other issues, including the
toxic waste," Kumar said.
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Importing
toxins |
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Much of the e-waste is illegally imported from rich countries,
such as the United States, where recycling is much more expensive.
"It can cost $20 to $30 to dispose of one computer, just
to throw it away in a proper way. Now instead of that, if you
then export the waste to a poor, developing country in Africa,
China or India, you can actually make money off that waste,"
Ravi Agarwal of Toxics Links told the NewsHour.
 International
treaties prohibit the export of obsolete computer parts from developed
to developing countries.
But e-waste traders use loopholes, like shipping the waste to
intermediate points, where shipping labels are changed to hide
the packages' point of origin. Or shipments are labeled as charitable
donations, which are allowed.
That's why Dr. Venkatesh pleads with people in rich countries
to research the best way to dispose of computers and cell phones.
"Please, don't send. No, no charity. By this kind of charity,
you are killing the children. Please don't do that," he said.
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Safer alternatives |
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There are a few safe alternatives.
Syed Hussain developed clean recycling technologies that reuse
the parts rather than recycle them.
 For
example, cathode ray tubes laden with toxic components are rebuilt
instead of crushed. They become television sets that are sold
cheaply to rural customers who could not otherwise afford them.
But such businesses are not as cost-effective as using cheap
labor and dumping the hazardous materials in the river.
"I think, in another four or five years, if no action is
taken, we will have a major contributor for the environmental
pollution, and especially lead, from the electronic, e-waste recycling,"
Venkatesh said.
--Compiled
by Annie Schleicher for NewsHour Extra
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Joplin was able to rise from the ashes because of help from everyone. And I am eternally grateful to anyone who made that possible.
